Church of Ireland: Disestablishment and beyond

On Thursday 27th February the Royal Irish Academy is hosting a half-day conference produced in partnership with the Church of Ireland as part of the Church’s National Programme that commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland.

Entitled ‘Church of Ireland: Disestablishment any beyond’, the conference will commence with an introduction to and discussion of the concepts of ‘Establishment’ and ‘Disestablishment’ and the transition between the two, to contextualise the subject and the subsequent panel discussions.

While the legislative act of Disestablishment was an event, the process of adapting the newly Disestablished Church to the social, political and cultural changes of late 19th century Ireland was much more complex. Panel two’s discussion of the hundred years between 1869–1969 will include themes such as the Church of Ireland and politics; church life, organisations and worship; cross-border factors, church-state relations; contributions to Irish life; the ecumenical landscape; and the Church of Ireland and the wider world.

Panel three will focus on the church-state interface since 1969 and looking to the future, both North and South, with particular emphasis on the contributions and challenges of the Church of Ireland. The discussion will cover themes such as education; the roles of church and state and how they relate to each other; health; and secularisation.

Panelists include:

• Senator Ivana Bacik
• Dr Marie Coleman (Queen’s University Belfast)
• Professor Vincent Comerford (Maynooth University)
• Dr Ian d’Alton (Trinity College Dublin)
• Professor Alan Ford (The University of Nottingham)
• Professor Jacqueline Hill, MRIA (Maynooth University)
• Revd Professor Anne Lodge (Dublin City University)
• Dr Martin Mansergh, MRIA
• Dr Miriam Moffitt (St Patrick’s College, Maynooth)
• Dr Andrew Pierce (Trinity College Dublin)

Registration with refreshments is at 13:15, with the conference commencing at 13:50. There will be a wine reception following the closing of the conference at 18:00.

This is a ticket affair. The full price is €15, concession for students, retired, or unemployed is €10. You can purchase your ticket via Eventbrite by following the link: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/church-of-ireland-disestablishment-and-beyond-tickets-64662052941

For further information please email: info@ria.ie